Exploring the Relationship Between Stimulant Use and Gambling in College Students

Abstract

Both gambling and stimulant use are common and can lead to problems on college campuses with consequences that impact the financial, emotional, academic and physical well-being of students. Yet few studies have been conducted to understand the co-occurrence of these conditions and the increased risk factors if any that may exist for gambling and related problems. The present study is among the first to document the co-occurrence of these behaviors in both a random sample of students (N = 4640), and then to explore to what extent stimulant use impacts subsequent gambling and related problems 12 months later in an at-risk sample (N = 199). Results revealed a three-fold higher rate of recent problem gambling for those who used stimulants versus those who had not (11 vs. 4 %). For those already gambling, stimulant use predicted an increased frequency in gambling 12 months later. Implications for prevention and screening are discussed.

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Acknowledgments

The research was supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse Grant No. R01 DA025051 and National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism T32 AA007455 both awarded to Mary E. Larimer.

Compliance with Ethical Standards

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical Standards

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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